'Captain Pugwash' Double Meanings : snopes.com Claim: The characters on the cartoon series Captain Pugwash had names that were sexual double entendres. FALSE Origins: The British Captain Pugwash animated television series, which originally aired on the BBC between 1958 and 1967, is widely believed to have featured characters with risqué maritime names such as Master Bates, Seaman Staines, and Roger the Cabin Boy. In fact, the crew of the famous Black Pig ship included sailors with no such names: present on board were Master Mate, Tom the Cabin Boy, and Pirates Barnabas and Willy. (No character with the designation of 'Seaman' appeared in the show.) Series creator John Ryan successfully won retractions and settlements from Sunday Correspondent and the Guardian after both newspapers claimed that the show's characters did indeed have smutty names, and that the BBC had taken it off the air as a result. The Guardian's statement ran as follows: In the Young Guardian of September 13 [1991] we stated that the Captain Pugwash cartoon series featured characters called Seaman Staines and Master Bates, and for that reason the series had never been repeated by the BBC.

We accept that it is untrue that there ever were any such characters. Furthermore, the series continues to be shown on television and on video. We apologize to Mr. Ryan, the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash films and books. We have agreed to pay him damages and his legal costs. Evening Standard correspondent Victor Lewis-Smith wrote several years later: 'It'll never stand up in court,' I hear you cry, but stranger cases have flourished. I remember voicing much the same opinion a decade ago when John Ryan's solicitor threatened legal action against the newspaper I was then working for, after I had erroneously (and I stress erroneously) suggested that the characters he'd created for his Captain Pugwash series weren't quite as innocent as they'd first seemed back in the 1950s. Unwittingly repeating a folk myth that had been passed down through generations of schoolboys, I'd stated that the dramatis personae included such nautical naughties as Master Bates, Seaman Stains and Roger the Cabin Boy, and that 'Pugwash' was Australian slang for a form of oral sex.

The matter seemed trivial, but an apology was made, Mr Ryan's honour was satisfied and two sets of parasitical, low-life libel lawyers thus pocketed yet more easy (and thoroughly ill-deserved) dosh. Puns that play on the homophony of masturbates-Master Bates and seamen-semen are quite old (recall the "What's long and hard and filled with seamen?" joke), and it was probably only a matter of time before someone made the obvious jokes about the names of sailors in a long-running television series, especially since people seem to find this type of humor particularly titillating when it is ascribed to the creators of children's programming. However, as this audio clip demonstrates, the exact pronunciation of certain Captain Pugwash character names could (perhaps deliberately) be difficult to discern.

The British comedy duo of Victor Lewis-Smith and Paul Sparks has claimed credit for starting and spreading the Captain Pugwash rumors, and the double entendre names have also been attributed to a sketch by "seventies folkie comic" Richard Digance as well as a "1970s rag mag." Additional information: Captain Pugwash (TV Series 1957–1966) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The adventures of Captain Pugwash and his crew aboard the pirate ship - the Black Pig. Creator: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence.

a list of 120 titles created 06 May 2012 a list of 981 titles created 24 Sep 2012 a list of 14 titles created 10 Nov 2012 a list of 2 titles created 24 Jan 2013 a list of 36 titles created 01 Nov 2013 Search for " Captain Pugwash " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Captain Pugwash (1957–1966) 6.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The Trap Door (TV Series 1984) Animation | Adventure | Comedy 3D plasticine animation, featuring Berk, a blue creature who lives as servant to the unseen 'Thing Upstairs' in an old dark house. Every time the trap door opens a new adventure begins for ...

See full summary » Stars: William Rushton 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X A team of 6 contestants play a series of physical, mental, skill and mystery games across 4 themed zones gaining as many crystals as possible which determine how many seconds they get as they attempt to win a prize inside the Crystal Dome. Stars: Richard O'Brien, Edward Tudor-Pole, Sandra Caron A melancholic children's animation from the 'Smallfilms' team of Postgate and Firmin. Bagpuss and his friends are toys in a turn of the century shop for 'found things'. When young Emily ... See full summary » Stars: Oliver Postgate, Sandra Kerr, John Faulkner When Jamie shines his Magic Torch on the floor of his bedroom a hole appears, leading Jamie and Wordsworth the sheepdog to the psychedelic fantasy world of Cuckooland. Stars: Brian Trueman, Kate Murray-Henderson Children's puppet programme featuring music and stories. Stars: Geoffrey Hayes, Roy Skelton, Stanley Bates Popular British children's animation series, repeated almost constantly since 1971.

Mr Benn is the ordinary, bowler-hatted office worker who lives in the ordinary suburban street of Festive... See full summary » Stars: Ray Brooks Button Moon (TV Series 1980) Family Mr Spoon and his family live on Junk Planet. He travels in his baked bean tin spaceship across blanket sky to Button Moon. There he meets many strange characters and watches stories unfold on other planets using his telescope. Stars: Robin Parkinson The true story of Sherwood Forest is finally revealed: Robin was a cowardly tailor from Kensington, and Marian was the brains behind the Merry Men. With her ruthless band of freedom ... See full summary » Stars: Kate Lonergan, Adam Morris, Danny John-Jules The Wombles (TV Series 1973) Animation | Family The misadventures of a fantasy folk community dedicated to cleaning up litter and put it to their own use. Stars: Bernard Cribbins, Dieter Hallervorden The long running television series of the Grange Hill Comprehensive School, and the children's everyday lives.

Stars: Stuart Organ, Gwyneth Powell, Lee Cornes In 17th century France, young Dogtanian travels to Paris to fulfill his ambition to become one of the King's Musketeers. He befriends Athos, Porthos and Aramis and falls in love with Juliette. A doggy version of the tale. Stars: Eduardo Jover, Gloria Cámara, Manuel Peiró The adventures of a little boy called Bod, who lives in a town with his friends Aunt Flo, P.C. Copper, Frank the Postman and Farmer Barleymow. Each episode also featured Alberto Frog and his Amazing Animal Band. Stars: John Le Mesurier, Maggie Henderson Did You Know? Trivia On 13 September 1991 national British newspaper 'The Guardian' claimed that certain characters names could be viewed in a vulgar context (e.g. Master Bates and Seaman Staines). Such character names did not form any part of the series and creator John Ryan successfully won retractions and settlements from both 'The Guardian' and another British newspaper, 'The Sunday Correspondent', which also printed a similar story.

See more » Connections (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews Aboard his ship, Captain Pugwash is a jovial and rather innocent pirate  certainly a stark contrast to the scheme and rather underhand personae of fellow pirate but mortal enemy Cutthroat Jake. Along with Master Mate, Pirate Barnabas, Pirate Willy and Tom the cabin boy, Pugwash sails to adventure on a regular basis. Spread over 86 episodes, this is one of those animations that many viewers remember from childhood and tends to get great praise because it is viewed through the fog of nostalgia and so forth. The animation is naturally dated as it tends to use drawn backgrounds and cut out figures that are manipulated on screen  there is limited motion of the characters and things are left as static as they can be; imagine a story book where the pictures change on each page to get the rough idea. However it still works well enough once you have accepted that it is doing this, and the main reason it does work is because the stories are mostly well written and interesting. The narration is wholesome and clean, as are the stories, although there is a fine smattering of wit throughout it.

Overall this is not a cartoon that will win many new fans  particularly not among younger viewers used to fancy animation, noisy and action; but it is still a pleasurable watch when you have a nostalgic link to it. The animation is basic but the stories are mostly interesting and it rarely bores. 11 of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Captain Pugwash - Childrens TV | Jedi's Paradise Captain Pugwash Captain Pugwash is a 50’s children’s TV show. The characters were first created by John Ryan in 1950 and appeared in the first 12 issues of the 'Eagle' comic. He was turned down by 12 publishers before Captain Pugwash was published. He also created the comic strips - 'Harris Tweed: Extra Special Agent' and 'Lettice Leefe: the Greenest Girl in School'. Also he created Sir Prancelot. In 1957 Captain Pugwash appeared on BBC television for the first time and approximately 120 episodes were produced. All the voices and narration were provided by Peter Hawkins.

John Ryan devised his own method of animation, using cut- out puppets and props with cardboard levers to make boats rock and to help the characters move their eyes, mouths and limbs (see the Puffin Annual article for a behind the scenes insight). Contrary to popular belief, the names of Captain Pugwash's crew were not in any way smutty! Which the Guardian newspaper (UK) found out to its cost, when they published an article about the programme characters having smutty names, such as Seaman Staines and Master Bates. A lawsuit on behalf of John Ryan ensued and the paper had to print an apology and pay damages. In 1998 a new series was commissioned called - The Adventures of Captain Pugwash. It consisted of 26 episodes at cost of £1.5 million to make. This version of Captain Pugwash was state-of-the-art and produced on computers. This time the voices were provided by James Saxon. Story Captain Pugwash was a pirate of the high seas who commanded the ship, The Black Pig. He was supported in his adventures by his able crew, Pirate Barnabas, Master Mate, Pirate Willy and Tom the Cabin Boy.

Captain Pugwash's search for the hidden treasure involved him in all sorts of terrible mishaps including the odd scrape with his arch-enemy, Cut-throat Jake, the Pirate Captain of the Flying Dustman. Captain Pugwash Characters Captain ‘Horatio’ Pugwash He is a pirate, but he isn't very good at it. He's not very bright, but others on his crew are worse. Each time he is confronted by his nemesis, Cut- throat Jake, he runs away, so is a bit of a scaredy cat. Also he's not very good at navigating. So overall he's a bit rubbish. He redeems himself by coming out with some rather strange comments, like 'Jumping Jellyfish' or 'Stuttering Starfish'. Master Mate He accidentally blew a hole in the prison where Cutthroat Jake was being held, so letting him escape and come after Pugwash again! Tom He is the Cabin Boy of the ship and basically looks after the crew, cooks all their meals and even steers the ship. He is the brains of the operation and is always giving the Captain advice on how to get out of a sticky situation.

He even thought of dangling a crate of biscuits in front of a Sea Monster, so it would chase after it, and give the ship a tow. Tom also has his own pet mouse. Cut-throat Jake His is Captain Pugwash's number one enemy and pursues him relentlessly. He's even attempted to steal the Black Pig. Beware of a man with hairy knuckles. Pirate William (Willy) He is the lowest ranking pirate. He is scared of mice. Pirate Barnabus Captain Pugwash Episodes Series 1 (1957 - 1966) ?. Down The Hatch ?. Cannon Ball ?. Monster Ahoy! ?. A Mouse A ‘Midships ?. The Firework Party ?. Surprise Attack ?. The Highwayman ?. The Captain’s Dream ?. Gold Dust ?. Abandon Ship ?. Flying Buccaneer ?. A New Ship ?. The Cuckoo Clock ?. The Powder Magazine ?. Ivory Castle (Cargo) ?. New Sails ?. On Trail ?. The Map ?. Night Attack ?. Ghost Ship ?. The Test ?. The Secret Weapon ?. The Crown Jewels ?. The Doctor ?. Press Gang ?. Man Overboard ?. King Of The Barbary Pirates ?. Arctic Circle ?. The Smugglers ?. Tug-Of-War ?.

Solid Gold ?. Heads Or Tails ?. Mobertory Bay ?. Secret Mission ?. Pleasure Cruise ?. Black Pepper ?. Home Grown ?. Pirate Romance ?. The Fortune Tellers ?. The Wreckers ?. Twins ?. The Secret Of The Stinkas ?. A Cure For Hiccups ?. High Society ?. The Submarine ?. The Haunted Reef ?. The Moon Of Muddipore ?. The Escape ?. A Hairy Affair ?. Hero Willy ?. Total Eclispe ?. The Dragon Of Pop-Sing-Ho ?. The Vanishing Island ?. Captain Moonshine ?. Carnival ?. Down The Hatch ?. Cannon Ball ?. Monster Ahoy! ?. A Mouse A ‘Midships ?. The Firework Party ?. Surprise Attack ?. The Highwayman ?. The Captain’s Dream ?. Gold Dust ?. Abandon Ship ?. Flying Buccaneer ?. A New Ship ?. The Cuckoo Clock ?. The Powder Magazine ?. Ivory Castle (Cargo) ?. New Sails ?. On Trail ?. The Map ?. Night Attack ?. Ghost Ship ?. The Test ?. The Secret Weapon ?. The Crown Jewels ?. The Doctor ?. Press Gang ?. Man Overboard ?. King Of The Barbary Pirates ?. Arctic Circle ?. The Smugglers ?. Tug-Of-War ?.

Solid Gold ?. Heads Or Tails ?. Mobertory Bay ?. Secret Mission ?. Pleasure Cruise ?. Black Pepper ?. Home Grown ?. Pirate Romance ?. The Fortune Tellers ?. The Wreckers ?. Twins ?. The Secret Of The Stinkas ?. A Cure For Hiccups ?. High Society ?. The Submarine ?. The Haunted Reef ?. The Moon Of Muddipore ?. The Escape ?. A Hairy Affair ?. Hero Willy ?. Total Eclispe ?. The Dragon Of Pop-Sing-Ho ?. The Vanishing Island ?. Captain Moonshine ?. Carnival ?. The Cruise Of The Flying Pig - Part 1 ?. The Cruise Of The Flying Pig - Part 2 ?. The Cruise Of The Flying Pig - Part 3 ?. The Open Day ?. The Man In The Iron Mask - Part 1 ?. The Man In The Iron Mask - Part 2 ?. The Curse Of The Pugwashes - Part 1 (Ghastleigh Grange) ?. The Curse Of The Pugwashes - Part 2 (Family Treasure) Series 2 (1974) 1. Down the Hatch 2. The Cannon Ball 3. Sea Monster 4. Mouse A Midships 5.

The Show Boat 6. Flood Tide 7. Pirate Picnic 8. Fish Meal 9. Mutiny On The Black Pig 10. The Great Bank Robbery 11. A Shot Across the Bows 12. Wedding Bells 13. Stung 14. The Golden Trail 15. Diamonds On Ice 16. The Birthday Cake 17. Witches' Brew 18. Six Foot Deep 19. The Riddle Of The Rubies 20. Pirate Of The Year 21. Easy Money 22. The Plank 23. A Fair Exchange 24. Voyage Of Discovery 25. Smugglers Cove 26. The Flying Buccaneer 27. The Island Of The Dodos 28. Caught In The Act 29. A Tell Tale Tail 30. Off With His Head The Adventures of Captain Pugwash Episodes Series 1 (1988) ?. The Fat Cat ?. The Vanishing Ship ?. The Dingly Dangly Crab ?. Chests Of Drawers ?. Hot Chocolate ?. The Boat Race ?. The Stowaway Sheep ?.

The Portobello Plague ?. The Double-dealing Duchess ?. The Emperor's New Clothes ?. The Pandemonian Parrot ?. The Brush With Art ?. Hair-Raising Day ?. Diddle-De Diamonds ?. The Melodious Mermaid Captain Pugwash Video Intro Captain Pugwash | Toonfind cartoon database Captain Pugwash show information Captain Horatio Pugwash made his debut in a comic strip format in the first issue of The Eagle in 1950, then appeared regularly as a strip in Radio Times. In 1957 the BBC commissioned a series of short cartoon films produced by Gordon Murray. Ryan produced a total of 86 five-minute-long episodes for the BBC, shot in black-and-white film, but later transferring to colour. Ryan used a real-time technique of animation in which cardboard cutouts of the characters were laid on painted backgrounds and moved with levers. The characters' voices were provided by Peter Hawkins. The last series of Pugwash shorts by Ryan was produced in 1975. Although there are many anachronisms in the series, the book The Battle of Bunkum Bay gives some useful clues as to the era in which the stories are set.

In this book, the King of England strongly resembles George I and the King of France resembles Louis XIV, suggesting that this story took place in 1714-15. However, one of the few direct references to a date is in the original TV series is the episode 'Pirate of the Year' where Pugwash enters the "Pirate of the Year contest 1775" A number of spin-off books were written by John Ryan, and in the 1980s he drew three new Pugwash comic strip storybooks: The Secret of the San Fiasco, The Battle of Bunkum Bay and The Quest for the Golden Handshake. The rights to Captain Pugwash were purchased by HIT Entertainment, who from 1997 have issued a number of digital and part computer-animated cartoon films based on the Pugwash character, set on the island of "Montebuffo", "somewhere in the Spanish Main". Peter Hawkins did not provide the voices, HIT Entertainment instead employing character actor James Saxon.

A DVD containing 'ALL 30 heroic high sea adventures from the classic 70s TV series' filmed in colour (156 minutes running time) was given away with the Sunday Times on 20 January 2008. A related book by John Ryan was Admiral Fatso Fitzpugwash, in which it is revealed that Pugwash had a medieval ancestor who was First Sea Lord, but who was terrified of water. Captain Pugwash cartoon pictures Captain Pugwash cartoon characters Captain Pugwash The pompous but likeable captain of the Black Pig. Although he boasts of being the "bravest buccaneer", he is actually quite cowardly and stupid. His greed often gets him into trouble. Despite all this, he usually wins the day - either with the help of Tom the Cabin Boy or through sheer luck. Strangely enough, despite being a pirate, he is rarely seen committing any acts of piracy. Master Mate A somewhat dopey character, who has a tendency to use malapropisms and to mispronounce common words. He has a teddy bear in his bunk and is quite mild-mannered.

It is not entirely clear why he is the mate, as he does not appear to have any authority over the rest of the crew. He was present in the first ever Pugwash story, in which he was depicted as being constantly sleepy. Pirate Barnabas The most aggressive of the pirates, but in reality just as harmless. He is quite rebellious and grumpy, and is perhaps marginally more intelligent than Willy, the Mate or the Captain. He was not present in the 1997 series. "No good will come of this, mark my words!" Pirate Willy A simple sailor from Wigan. He appears to be the youngest crew member (apart from Tom). He is a gentle soul, and is against using violence. He does, however, have the occasional brainwave and has been the crew's saviour (admittedly sometimes more by luck than by design). "Just you wait till we get back to Wigan - we won't half have a 'tail' to tell!" Tom the Cabin Boy It might be argued that without Tom, Pugwash would have been sunk long ago.

He is the most intelligent and resourceful member of the crew, the only one who can cook and the only one who can actually sail a ship. Although Pugwash would never admit it, Tom's ability to think up schemes is probably the only thing that prevents him from being a total failure as a pirate. Tom is an expert concertina player, and part of his repertoire is The Trumpet Hornpipe (the Captain Pugwash theme). He was portrayed with a Home Counties accent in the first television adaptation, and with an Irish accent in the 1997 series. Cut-Throat Jake Captain Pugwash's fearsome arch-enemy, captain of the Flying Dustman (a pun on the Flying Dutchman combined with a reference to the occupation of Dustman). When he is not scheming to bring about Pugwash's downfall, he is a rather more competent pirate than his enemy, and always seems to have plenty of treasure. He speaks with a stereotypical West Country accent, and is easily recognisable by his eye patch and enormous black beard. Characters added in the later series Jonah This character replaced pirate Barnabas, who featured in the older series.

His catchphrase is "No good will come of this, mark my words!" Governor of Portobello This character lives at the top of the island in a mansion covered in vines. He talks very loudly and his head of guard, Lt. Scratchwood, usually acts as a megaphone. He is deeply in love with Donna Bonanza and attends to her every need. Maggie Layfayet This pirate queen appeared in the second series when she hijacked the captain's ship to escape from the authorities. Swine An Australian pirate who works for Jake. He almost always has a mug of grog in his hand. This character appeared in the original series, but never spoke, nor was he named. Stinka A Mexican who works for Jake who speaks little English. He repeats everything that Jake says, annoying him greatly. Again, this character was an unnamed, unspeaking character in the earlier series. Lieutenant Scratchwood The voice for the governor and the law for the town of Portobello. In charge of the guard and collecting taxes, he also spends his time chasing criminals. Captain Pugwash episode guide Captain Pugwash (Character) - Comic Vine Captain Pugwash No recent wiki edits to this page.

Origin Horatio Pugwash is the cowardly, genial and rotund pirate captain of the Black Pig. Creation Created by John Ryan, Captain Pugwash began as a comic strip in The Eagle #1. General Information Close This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for: Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live. Comment and Save Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved. Save your changes Thanks, we're checking your submission. Whoah, whoah... slow down there. Thanks! Your changes are live! Some of your changes are live Because you're new to wiki editing, we sent your submission off to our moderators to check it over. Most changes are approved within a few hours. We'll send an email when it is. Once you've earned over points you'll be able to bypass this step and make live edits to our system. Until then, gain points by continuing to edit pages.

You are currently banned from editing the wiki. Wiki submissions are currently disabled. No changes were submitted, nothing was done! Please make changes to the wiki! Thanks for continuing to improve the site. Some of your changes are now live. However, some of your changes were sent to moderation because you do not have enough points to make those live edits. You need points to live edit the changes you commited. For the changes that went through, our robot math gave you points for this submission. Thanks for continuing to improve the site. Your changes are now live. Our robot math gave you points for this submission. Captain Pugwash (UK) - ShareTV Captain Pugwash (UK) Remove Show Captain Pugwash BBC 1957 made in animated graphics. The eponymous hero - Captain Horatio Pugwash - sails the high seas near New Zealand in his ship the Black Pig, ably assisted by cabin boy Tom, pirates Willy and Barnabas, and Master Mate. His mortal enemy is Cut-Throat Jake, captain of the Flying Dustman. More Trivia On 13 September 1991 national British newspaper 'The Guardian' claimed that certain characters names could be viewed in a vulgar context (e.g.

Master Bates and Seaman Staines). Such character… [show] On 13 September 1991 national British newspaper 'The Guardian' claimed that certain characters names could be viewed in a vulgar context (e.g. Master Bates and Seaman Staines). Such character names did not form any part of the series and creator John Ryan successfully won retractions and settlements from both 'The Guardian' and another British newspaper, 'The Sunday Correspondent', which also printed a similar story. CONTINUING SAGA OF CAPTAIN PUGWASH THE CONTINUING SAGA OF CAPTAIN PUGWASH There is an incredibly persistent myth that the popular UK childrenï¿½s animated series "Captain Pugwash" contained the following amongst its nautical cast: Seaman Stains, Master Bates and Roger the Cabin Boy. Even the word ï¿½Pugwashï¿½ was suspected of being obscene (a sexual act in Australia).

It is often stated that somehow, these characters got past naive TV censors and onto kiddies TV ï¿½much to the delight of older children and the mortification of parentsï¿½ until someone brought the matter to the attention of a famous campaigner for ï¿½decency in the mediaï¿½. Another version of the myth suggested that the BBC simply omitted the ï¿½offending episodesï¿½ containing Bates, Stains and Roger. Captain Pugwash was created by John Ryan and aired between 1958 and 1967 (I'm sure I watched it in the early 1970s) and the crew of the "Black Pig" were Captain Pugwash, Master Mate, Tom the Cabin Boy, and Pirates Barnabas and Willy. It is likely that the common punning of masturbates/Master Bates and Seamen/semen became attached to the children's series; these puns certainly appealed to teens. I remember spoof Pugwash cartoons in student rag mags in the early 1980s which depicted the Pugwash crew as characters from the popular dirty ode "Good Ship Venus" ("Friggin' in the Riggin').

Several people insist they have videos of episodes containing these characters, but can never produce the said videos due to them being in ï¿½old Betamaxï¿½ or ï¿½2000ï¿½ format. One correspondent claims the tale is partly due to a doctored videotape. One writes "I believe it was a TV or radio spoof. I seem to recall the perpetrators were successfully sued and told any further such infringements would be met with the same action." In interviews, the creator of Captain Pugwash confirmed that this is a myth ï¿½ the first mate was addressed as ï¿½Mister Mateï¿½ or ï¿½Master Mateï¿½. There was no Seaman called Stains, nor a Cabin Boy called Roger. The word ï¿½Pugwashï¿½ did not refer to a sex act offered by Australian prostitutes.

Showing just how fallible human memory is, the myth is attributed to numerous sources: British comedians Victor Lewis-Smith and Paul Sparks; 1970s comedian Richard Digance (whom, it is said, was sued); Jasper Carrott (who did the infamous Magic Roundabout parody) and various 1970s student rag mags. One correspondent cited the sketch show "Not the Nine O'Clock News". Victor Lewis-Smith wrote: "I had erroneously (and I stress erroneously) suggested that the characters he'd created for his Captain Pugwash series weren't quite as innocent as they'd first seemed back in the 1950s. Unwittingly repeating a folk myth that had been passed down through generations of schoolboys, I'd stated that the dramatis personae included such nautical naughties as Master Bates, Seaman Stains and Roger the Cabin Boy, and that 'Pugwash' was Australian slang for a form of oral sex." The idea that the innuendoes were responsible for the show's demise became common currency. In 1991, the Guardian newspaper stated that smutty character names had caused the BBC to stop showing Captain Pugwash.

The Guardian's apology read "In the Young Guardian of September 13 we stated that the Captain Pugwash cartoon series featured characters called Seaman Staines and Master Bates, and for that reason the series had never been repeated by the BBC. We accept that it is untrue that there ever were any such characters. Furthermore, the series continues to be shown on television and on video. We apologise to Mr. Ryan, the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash films and books. We have agreed to pay him damages and his legal costs." This myth remains incredibly pervasive and, when asked to name characters from the show, many who grew up in the Pugwash era confidently cite the infamous Master Bates, Seaman Stains and Roger the Cabin Boy much to the bemusement of the showï¿½s creator who had created an innocent kiddies TV series. It is now so much a part of British culture, that a newspaper article in May 2000 (almost a decade after the Guardian's public apology) compared the double entendres in some show to the "infamous Captain Pugwash 'Seaman Stains' character".

Other "remembered" characters include "Shag the dog" or "Dick the dog", "Dicken the Cabin Boy" and (from someone with a very fertile imagination I guess) "Flay Sho the Cunning Linguist, Captain of a Chinese Pirate Junk". The animated series was screened for several years before it declined in popularity although it continued to be parodied (student revues, student rag mags, adult comics etc) so that individuals remembered the parodies rather than the show itself. In true urban myth style, Philip Harvey adds: " The 'myth' was started after the pilot episode of the show starred those very characters. It was never shown on TV as it was only the pilot, a proof of concept. The creator realised the potential of the children's show, and saw that the political climate was a-changing, thus changed the names for the enlightened audiences, fearing he would be hanged till he be dead otherwise. My great-uncle's cousin's father's best friend from college once got the creator of the show drunk, and the secret was discovered despite the legal gag on the whole of the BBC never to mention anything.

He even got hold of video evidence of the episode, but it was lost when the CIA's black helicopters 'paid him a visit' one night. At least, that's the rumour I heard." In January 2004, the Captain Pugwash myth was revived in reports about the BBC's new version of the Andy Pandy which, claimed UK newspaper "The Sun" (20th Jan 2004, quoting series narrator Tom Conti), is littered with sexual innuendoes and double entendres. The Sun said it was not the first children's show to have adult humour slipped and cited The Magic Roundabout being littered with drug references. Ananova (same date) carried the same claim but wrote "most notably Captain Pugwash", thus perpetuating the Pugwash myth (this was rectified by Ananova when they were advised of the Pugwash myth). The original adventures of Andy Pandy, Teddy and Looby Loo, shown in the Tuesday lunchtime "Watch With Mother" slot up until the 1970s, were widely parodied.

A 1980s parody had Randy Andy playing with his big chopper (a model helicopter): "Children, just look at Andy's big chopper going up and down, up and down"; this being a joke about Prince Andrew joining the armed forces. Other spoofs had Andy, Teddy and Looby being told it was "Time for Bed" and climbing into the toybox together. The new series is on BBC TV's CBeebies pre-school channel. The adult humour apparently includes "Teddy got very excited blowing the balloon. It was very big indeed"; Andy blowing on a big wooden horn and finding it "rather hard" and Andy making a cake with a big banana sticking out of it. Adult innuendo? Hardly. It's yet another case of dirty-minded adults reading their own smutty meanings into entirely innocent statements - and The Sun is surely a world leader in this. In the new series, Andy, Teddy and Looby don't even share a toybox! Children's TV shows of yesteryear are common targets for adult humour parodies.

Jasper Carrott's Magic Roundabout skit asked if Florence was a virgin (at the end of each Magic Roundabout episode, Zebedee tells everyone it is "Time for bed"). There are long-running jokes about "Muffin the mule and Dobbin the horse" being sex acts. Spotting sexual references, real or imagined, in children's programmes or books has always been a common pastime, for example the infestation of "doxies" in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in 2003 (doxy being slang for whore). The irony is that many more people have heard the urban myth and, much to John Ryan's chagrin, have grown up believing the myth, than have seen the original TV show. Anyone for finding some "facing the engine" innuendoes in "Ivor the Engine"?

Captain Pugwash creator was traumatised by urban myths about rude character names that never existed - Mirror Online TV Captain Pugwash creator was traumatised by urban myths about rude character names that never existed The daughter of the late John Ryan said the inaccurate claims the children's TV show had smutty names had a 'bad effect' on him Share Urban Myth: There were no smutty names in Captain Pugwash despite popular misconception Share Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email The daughter of Captain Pugwash creator John Ryan has revealed how her father was traumatised by urban myths about rude character names that never existed. Isbael Ryan said her father’s childlike innocence was lost after student newspapers in the 1970s created malicious rumours about the supposed smutty names of the TV show’s characters. While it did feature a Master Mates and a Pirate Willy, characters like Seaman Staines, Roger the Cabin Boy and Master Bates just did not exist on board the Black Pig pirate ship. Yet the myth endured for years, and even found their way into news reports.

Mr Ryan won libel damages from two newspapers in 1991 after they published stories that the BBC had taken Captain Pugwash off the air because of the risqué names. Children's Author: John Ryan was the creator of Captain Pugwash stories, and passed away six years ago “Those stories are completely inaccurate,” Ms Ryan told the Coventry Telegraph . “They’re urban myths that have been rubbished. “My father was a very charming and innocent man. He would be the last person to make up such names. “It really had a bad effect on my father for some time. These stories were entirely invented by a student rag. “If you read a book or look at one of the strips, you will see that the character’s names are Tom the Cabin Boy and Pirate Barnabas.

“Yes there was a Pirate Willy, but back in those times people didn’t think that way.” Children's Classic: The programme aired for 30 episodes in the 1970s and was revived in the 1990s Mr Ryan’s family were forced to turn to the courts to salvage the reputation of his life’s work, which he began creating in 1950 on a shoe string budget with his wife Priscilla. Isabel said: “We had to sue the papers and the stories were retracted. He gave the money from the courts to lifeboat charities.” There were 21 Captain Pugwash books but the character is best known for the mid 1970s animated TV series. There was also a black and white cartoon in the 1950s and 60s and the character was revived for a further series in the late 1990s. The character's creator passed away in 2009 aged 88.

Pugwash Curator: Isabel Ryan is the daughter of John Ryan and now curates his work (Photo: Coventry Telegraph) The devastation caused to Mr Ryan by the malicious rumours has a huge impact on the way his daughter looked at children’s television. She said: “It tells you a lot about human nature. It made me think that everyone has a right to laugh, but we should consider what we are laughing at. “To spoil childhood innocent is a sad thing to do.” Now a curator of of her father’s work, she would like to see the historic cartoon back on our TV screens. “I got back the copyright on some of the films," she said. It would be great to see them again.” Most Read Most Recent Most Read Most Recent Captain Pugwash Captain Pugwash Signature tune "Plundering Porpoises! Jumping jellyfish! Harrowing hurricanes!" blustered pirate Captain Pugwash to the work-shy crew of his ship the Black Pig as they sailed the Seven Seas and encountered adventures. The rotund Captain.

always bold before the event, with a tendency to get into scrapes (and make a speedy exit forthwith) was a star of this, originally, very basic animated programme, in which speech was simulated by moving a piece of card behind the character's open mouths. The Good Captain was a simple man and no match for his various shiver-me-timbers foes but fortunately he was regularly rescued from the clutches of black-bearded arch villain Cut-Throat Jake (of the 'Flying Dustman') by the cunning and courage of the Black Pig's cabin boy Tom. All the characters were voiced by Peter Hawkins (who also spoke for The Flowerpot Men and, later, some of the Daleks) and the catchy sea-shanty signature tune , called The Trumpet Hornpipe, became a firm children's favourite. Author-artist John Ryan, creator of Captain Pugwash and, later, Sir Prancelot recorded the Captain's adventures for over twelve years through four series. Pugwash chess peices are available at Chessnuts

Question: In the TV cartoon series, what is the name of Captain Pugwash's ship?
Answer: The Black Pig